Fire destroys Nifty Fifty's restaurant in Bensalem

Action News viewer Tom Stanton sent this photo of a fire at Nifty Fifty's in Bensalem on Friday, July 19th.

July 19, 2013 3:24:03 PM PDT

Action News

BENSALEM, Pa. - July 19, 2013 --

A massive fire destroyed a popular Bensalem restaurant on Friday morning.

Flames erupted at the Nifty Fifty's restaurant along Street Road around 6:50 a.m. and quickly spread to two alarms.

The restaurant was open when the fire began. Police say everyone inside escaped.

By the time firefighters arrived, much of the roof was engulfed.

"When the fire crews got here, we had heavy fire conditions through the roof and also out of the front of the building. Crews attempted to make an interior attack, but were forced to go exterior," explained Battalion Chief Robert Sponheimer.

A photo sent by Action News viewer Tom Stanton showed flames ripping through the building.

Although the fire occurred early in the morning, heat was definitely a factor affecting firefighters on the scene. At least one had to get medical attention.

A truck full of drinking water was brought in to help them stay hydrated.

"We're slowly rotating the manpower through and we're hoping to through this without anyone getting injured. We have no injuries to report at this time," said Chief Sponheimer.

The blaze was brought under control within two hours, but it appears the building may be a total loss.

The view from Chopper 6 HD showed the center of the building gutted and charred.

Also, earlier this year, five owners and managers of Nifty Fifty's for failing to report more than $15 million in receipts and failing to pay more than $2 million in taxes. Sentencing for the five has been set for September